


Worth the Wait

by HomeForImaginaryFriends



Series: 13 Days of HQ Halloween pt2 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Alternate Universe - Yakuza, Awkward Flirting, Break Up, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Witches, hint of badboy!daichi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 10:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16156781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomeForImaginaryFriends/pseuds/HomeForImaginaryFriends
Summary: Kuroo has never broken a rule in his 17 years.  So why is he sneaking out to meet the future head of another family in the dark?





	1. Chapter 1

Despite the judgements some have made based on his looks, Kuroo wasn’t an avid rule breaker.  He mostly did what he was told, he abided by the strict guidelines his family set for him, he performed all the daily tasks asked of him, and he complained very little.  All in all Kuroo thought of himself as a good, rule-abiding son and family member. He might drink more coffee than his elders would like and he hated showing his work on maths problems but that was usually the extent to his teenage rebellion.

 

Well, that was the extent until he met the future head of the Sawamura family.  Kuroo found it difficult to relax around people he didn’t know, despite the closeness he shared with many of his family members and the likes of Bokuto Koutarou, it had taken a while for them to ease their way into his life.  But there was something about Sawamura Daichi that pulled Kuroo towards him, that made him poke and prod at the slightly younger teen in a way Kuroo usually reserved for close friends. He knew this feeling was shared amongst many of his family members so he didn’t think about it too much and enjoyed the small moments he could get with Sawamura.

 

Until those small moments weren’t enough and Kuroo became greedy for more.  He wanted Sawamura’s full attention on him, not divided to his troublesome coven members or that mischievous Sugawara.  But most of all Kuroo wanted to be alone with Sawamura even though he knew that was an impossibility.

 

An impossibility made into a challenge by Sawamura Daichi himself, who seemed to feel the same conflicting emotions bubbling up inside of him despite how irritated he pretended to be by Kuroo in public.  Even then the irritation was always softened, there was none of the lecturing or shouted orders he gave to the members of his family who acted up more than others. Kuroo had been half surprised, half thrilled when Sawamura had slipped a note into Kuroo’s pocket.  A challenging grin on his handsome face that almost completely hid the vulnerability below it. It was that vulnerability that made Kuroo take the chance and meet up with Sawamura without either of their coven members present.

 

It could have gone disastrously and Kuroo knew each secret meeting was poking at a slumbering dragon.  Sooner or later something would happen. The best of the worst would be getting caught by one of the older coven members in their families, the worst would being caught by a coven member of a different family.  Kuroo and Sawamura were the next in line, the future of their families rested upon their shoulders. They were not just gambling with their own safety but the safety of everyone they cared about and held dear to them.

 

Young witches were a wellspring of power and while human sacrifices and bloodletting weren’t as popular as they were centuries ago, and it had always been more widespread in the western side of the hemisphere, it still happened.  Unclaimed witches disappeared regular enough for Kuroo to know better than to take such a risk.

 

Kuroo reminded himself of that everytime the familiar scrawl of writing would appear on the broken shard of mirror.  It was the way Sawamura and Kuroo communicated, the only way they could do it without being spied on though neither gave away important information or something that could be used against themselves or each other.  Even their meeting places were kept in code.

 

Kuroo told himself to deny Sawamura, they both knew how dangerous their actions were.  They also had been warned that feelings like the ones that were twisting inside of them could develop.  Generations ago the two covens had entered into a bloodpact that gave them added strength in a time of great turmoil.  The pact had dissipated over the years, felt only in the heads of the family the strongest thought there was a strong comrade shared between the families even at their first meeting.

 

Lingering blood magic left from generations before Kuroo was a good excuse to ignore what he felt for Sawamura, but then the other teen smiled at him or laughed at one of his ridiculous jokes and he admitted he was far too smitten.  Too far gone for any hope. Sawamura had the ability to completely crush Kuroo but despite that, Kuroo trusted the surprisingly cunning teen.

 

Conflicting emotions warred inside of Kuroo as he made his way towards their meeting spot.  They changed it often, never wanting anything to become a routine that someone else could memorize and use against them.  It was another reason Kuroo should not be doing this, but then he spotted the shorter form of Sawamura Daichi half hidden by shadows and all those twists and jagged edges inside of Kuroo smoothed out the closer her stepped to Sawamura.

 

“Oh ho ho?  Was someone eager to meet?”  Kuroo asked in a hushed voice.  He was fifteen minutes early but no matter how early Kuroo came, Sawamura was always waiting.

 

Sawamura pulled Kuroo further into the shadow, his magic brushed against Kuroo.  It felt soft and warm, like feathers against his skin though he was covered from the top of his head down to his toes.  The Karasuno Coven had the very helpful ability to manipulate shadows. Kuroo didn’t know the extent of those powers, if it differed between family members, but he knew he was partially jealous.  Mostly he was thankful for Sawamura’s ability that kept them hidden and protected, especially when these secret meetings left them a bit too distracted to keep an eye out for attackers.

 

“Did you grow taller?”  Sawamura asked, voice disgruntled and a deeper pitch than Kuroo remembered.  It made him shiver as he stepped closer, judged the growing distance between their faces and let out a cackling laugh that he tried to keep on the quieter side.

 

“Maybe you’re shrinking.”  Kuroo suggested with a smirk that he knew Sawamura equal parts hated and loved, though he mostly hated how much he loved it.

 

That was apart of the family ability the Nekoma Coven shared.  Each Coven had their own, though most tended to keep it as secret as they could.  Kuroo had heard many guesses about the Nekoma family trait and all were a little correct.  It differed for each member but Kuroo’s was a combination that allowed him to gave a small insight into the future.  He could read emotions as if they were spelled out above a person head but more importantly, he could read intentions.  He could see how a person felt and what they planned to do with those emotions.

 

It was why Kuroo wasn’t all that surprised when Sawamura used his shadow manipulation to open a hole beneath Kuroo’s feet that swallowed him down until he was on eye-level with Sawamura.  Sawamura could have made Kuroo shorter than he was, his grasp on his magic was amazing but he kept them even. It was this equality that made Kuroo grin and lean closer to Sawamura, not at all miffed by the missing height because it made kissing Sawamura all that much easier.

 

Kissing Sawamura was quickly becoming one of Kuroo’s favorite things to do.  It was a rather new development, though they had both harbored crushes on each other for years and the secret meetings had started over a year ago.  Kuroo had been content with waiting for Sawamura to make the first move, if that is what he decided to do. Kuroo felt like his ability was a bit of a cheat, he knew Sawamura liked Kuroo the same moment Sawamura himself realized he liked Kuroo despite countless denials.

 

Sawamura’s fingers find themselves underneath Kuroo’s knit cap, curling against the long strands there that the hat was purposefully hiding.  Kuroo can’t help the grin that spreads across his lips as he kisses Sawamura, knowing how much the other teen loves Kuroo’s hair is a great source of amusement for him.  Sawamura pulls warningly on Kuroo’s hair, kisses him a little deeper, and if he’s trying to keep Kuroo to stop smirking than he’s doing a poor job of it.

 

There’s a nagging feeling at the back of Kuroo’s mind that he can’t truly get rid of, even when he manages to find a way up Sawamura’s many layers to press cold fingers against warm skin.  He swallows the disgruntled and surprised noise Sawamura makes and even as his grin widens, he feels the each piece of sand slipping through the hourglass.

 

“Daichi,” Kuroo says, far more breathy than he would have liked but Sawamura is flushed and breathing hard also so he doesn’t feel too embarrassed.

 

“I know.”  Sawamura’s mouth dips into a frown even as he brushes his nose against Kuroo’s.

 

Kuroo can feel the tug in his chest and against his own magic.  They both know their time together is coming to a close. The rise of a new head of family is usually kept secret amongst each coven though most like waiting until the next in line is in their twenties before they fully stepped into the role.  Nekoma liked to wait until the late twenties but Karasuno had been hit a lot harder than Nekoma. Sawamura would most likely step up as the head of his family after his eighteenth birthday. It was October, which meant there was only a few short months until the new year when Sawamura would have his families fate in his hands.

 

Kuroo entwined his fingers into those hands now, felt how capable they were in the same instance acknowledging how young Sawamura was.  It was what led Sawamura to this almost out of character rebellion. He had wanted something that was completely his, something he didn’t have to share with his coven.  He wanted to be irresponsible before he could no longer afford it.

 

Sawamura released Kuroo from his shadows hold, letting Kuroo gain the ten or so centimeters he now had on him.  Even with the extra height Sawamura never seemed small in comparison. He was broad, strong in mind and body. Karasuno was lucky to have him.  Kuroo knew he was lucky to, even for the short time they had together.

 

“We could run away?”  Kuroo suggested but both of them knew he wasn’t serious.  There was obligation to their covens, yes. Responsibility sat heavily upon their shoulders but there was a deep sense of love and comfort amongst them too.  Kuroo could no more betray his family than Sawamura could.

 

“We would have to take our families with us and that would be a pain.”  Sawamura grinned but Kuroo could see how tired the other teen was already.  How he had a looming future that was so close with shoes that seemed far too large to fill.

 

Kuroo cupped Sawamura’s face, he always thought that Sawamura was handsome and he knew he’d be the type to only get better looking as he aged.  Their shared nights to sneaking off and kissing in the shadows was coming to a close but Kuroo knew he’d be there to see Sawamura grow into the position he was thrusted in far too early.  Kuroo looked forward to seeing the soft laugh lines appear and the silver that would look unfairly good scattered amongst the short black hair.

 

“I’ll always have the mirror.”  Kuroo reminded Sawamura, who nodded.  His eyes were dark and always so full of emotion.

 

Kuroo can see those emotions, knows that when Sawamura steps away that night it’ll be for good and it breaks his heart in a way he wasn’t expecting.  He swallows down that pain, tells himself it’s just apart of the bloodpact made centuries ago but it doesn’t stop the frantic beating of his heart as he pulls back and Sawamura lets him.

 

Kuroo doesn’t kiss Sawamura once more like he wants to, like they both want to because he knows a clean break is something they both need.  These stolen moments were nothing either expected and more than they could have ever wished for but it needed to end. They had too many responsibilities to their families to continue doing something so unsafe and rash.

 

Even then Kuroo knew Sawamura would follow him home, hidden amongst the shadows but always present until Kuroo was safely inside his families home.


	2. Chapter 2

**13 years later…**

  
  
  
  


Kuroo stepped into his office and resisted the urge to walk back out.  It was a disaster and he had only himself to blame for not putting things back after he was done.  Instead he just continually piled books, scrolls, and various papers on top of the previous used ones.  Now it was about three layers deep and would most likely take him the better part of the day cleaning and reorganizing everything to be put back where it rightly belonged.  He thought of, and quickly discarded, the idea of making one of the younger members do the clean up. Who knew where things would end up and while nothing on his desk was cursed or could cause harm, he knew it was his luck that one of the junior members would end up with something oozing or pussing that he would then have to take care of.

 

Kuroo tossed his jacket over his chair, the only thing kept free of clutter in his office.  Even his couch and the table in front of it was covered with various things he would also have to sort through.

 

The family had warned him several times that he would be tested when he fully accepted the role of head of his family.  It was something all new bosses experienced and something that needed to be handled with delicate care, but also swiftly.  Hence the various piles of research. He knew this unrest had to be handled in a precise way. It needed to be harsh, he needed to make sure no one tried to test him again but it couldn’t err on the side of cruel otherwise the other families and even his own people might think him too drunk with his own power and not suited for his position.

 

Mostly he needed to handle it alone.  He still had the backup of his family and they did help where they could, but he needed to be the one to discover who was causing the unrest and he was the one who needed to personally handle it.  It wasn’t easy, despite being thought of as cats, Nekoma didn’t enjoy playing with people. Not physically anyways. Kuroo didn’t like killing but his hope was that no one would test him further.

 

Kuroo had been pushed off into his quarters after everything had been handled yesterday.  He had taken a long shower and fallen into a restless sleep. Now he would have to deal with the aftermath and his families constant hovering.

 

Kuroo was placing an old grimoire back into the glass case bookshelf.  He put his more rare volumes in there, or the ones that he didn’t want falling into the wrong hands.  The case was spelled to open only to him and would enact a rather wicked curse to anyone with sticky fingers.  It was as he was closing the case that the door to his study swung open and a disgruntled teen with two-toned hair strode in carrying a tray.

 

“Someone actually managed to wake you up before noon?”  Kuroo asked with genuine amusement.

 

“Yaku wanted me to remind you that you have a meeting at two.”  Kozume put the tray down on top of the desk with no regard to the order Kuroo had been trying to make of things.  It wasn’t a surprise truly.

 

Kozume Kenma was over three hundred years old and was forever stuck looking like a gangly teenager.  It was one of Nekoma best kept secrets, their centuries old warlock. Kuroo hadn’t known this when he was younger, he had been an awkward and painfully shy child growing up.  Kozume had been a soothing presence that Kuroo could relax around. He taught Kuroo and shielded him from harm.

 

No one or nothing could make Kozume do anything he didn’t want to do, and everyone in Nekoma was smart enough not to ever force him to do anything.  Why he stuck around when all he wanted to do was stay curled up in his tower, sleeping the day away was a mystery. Kuroo believed Kozume just liked them, it was why he brought Kuroo food under the guise that Yaku had sent him.

 

“What are these?”  Kuroo asked, noticing the files beneath the tray that Kozume had also dumped on his desk.  He pulled them out and flipped through the first few.

 

“Contenders.”  Kozume answered, earning a questioning look from Kuroo.  “We all picked someone we thought you’d like. There’s a big pool going on for the winner.”  Kuroo pulled a face as Kozume laughed, walking out of the room looking quite smug. Kuroo opened the bottom drawer of his desk and dropped the files inside before snapping it closed.

 

Nekoma was always run by pairs, though it didn’t have to be a romantic pair it usually turned out that way.  Kuroo was no longer in his twenties and for the past year his family had been pushing more and more “suitors” on him.  It’s not as if Kuroo outright dismissed the idea but there was no connection with any of the people he had met. He might have grown out of his shell, shed his shy exterior but a part of him would forever remain that awkward boy who hid behind his mother's legs.  When he spoke to those potential suitors he felt as if he had to wear a mask the entire time. He had to be charming and likable, engaging but on guard. He couldn’t relax around any of them.

 

After the family meeting where all things were discussed, big and small, and a meal was shared between them Kuroo went back to his office to finish cleaning.  He burned the things he wasn’t keeping and put everything back into its rightful place. It was tedious and time consuming but it was also nice to shut off his brain for a little bit and complete menial tasks.

 

Kuroo sat on his chair behind his desk, surveying the newly cleaned room and ruefully thinking about how it would become messy again by the end of the week.  But no matter where he tried to place his thoughts he couldn’t help but be curious about the files stashed away in his bottom drawer.

 

With a loud sigh that no one was around to hear, Kuroo pulled out the files and placed them on his desk with caution he knew he didn’t need.  The truth of the matter was, his family loved him as he loved them. He knew there were other covens who did not function as theirs did, as an extended family who cared and looked out for each other no matter what.  With some of the bigger covens that was an impossibility. Yet his family wanted Kuroo happy and they would have done their research and taken their time to only suggest true candidates, no matter what their teasing suggested otherwise.

 

Kuroo went through the files one by one.  He could see the merits in each and could pick out which family member suggested what person.  Oikawa Tooru’s file gave Kuroo pause. The other boss had propositioned Kuroo before. Oikawa had no interest in romance and even less in sex, he regarded Kuroo as an equal who could help his family gain more power.  It was true, Kuroo and Oikawa would make quite the power couple but Kuroo knew it wasn’t a possibility. Kuroo would always be on edge, forced to keep his guard up because Oikawa was as sharp as he was pretty.

 

The last file had Kuroo inhaling quickly before glancing around as if someone could have snuck into his office to witness his moment of panic.

 

As much as Kuroo would like to say that he didn’t harbor feelings for his teenage crush, he knew that for the lie it was.  Sawamura Daichi was the person Kuroo measured all others against. He was positive it would have been easier to move on from the other man if he wasn’t so present, so readily available to Kuroo whenever he needed him.

 

Kuroo remembered the vague idea he had as a teenager, thinking Sawamura would grow to be even handsomer.  He had been right and it had been an understatement. Kuroo had seen some leaders be eaten alive by the role they acquired, they became shallow and pale forms of their past self.  Yet Sawamura seemed to thrive under pressure, he had taken a broken family and made them whole again, was bringing them up to their former glory.

 

The picture in the file was a mugshot taken on Sawamura’s twenty-second birthday.  He looked displeased and embarrassed. The mugshot and fingerprints were mysteriously misplaced after Sawamura spent exactly twelve minutes in a jail cell before being released.  Nekoma had gotten ahold of copies before Karasuno had managed to destroy them. There were paragraphs of private information, as there had been in all the files. Most Kuroo had already known about Sawamura and he looked forward to teasing the man about being caught by the police even if it was nearly a decade prior.

 

Kuroo’s hand was already reaching out to grab his phone, knowing Sawamura would pick up despite the late hour.  Sawamura always picked up on the second ring and unless he was in a public setting, his voice held a hint of warmth that had Kuroo relaxing no matter what situation he was in.

 

Kuroo knew they had broken up for the right reasons.  They had been little more than kids with the responsibility of their families weighing them down.  They needed time to grow, to become secure in themselves and their families. If they had tried to hold on there was no telling the damage they could of done to themselves, to each other.  But they were no longer children. Sawamura had been firmly seated at the apex of his family for thirteen years and Kuroo had just reinforced his own hold.

 

The phone was pressed against Kuroo’s ear before he had even really thought it through.  It rang twice before it clicked on and Kuroo could hear only chaos in the background for a short moment.

 

“Hello Kuroo,” Sawamura’s voice had deepened over the years, it made the static pick up on Kuroo’s phone and settled warmly in his chest whenever he heard it.  “How can I help you?” There was a whoosh of air followed quickly by a scream.

 

“Not interrupting anything important, am I?”  Kuroo asked, stretching out his legs underneath his table.  Sawamura had grown into a man who rarely showed his true emotions but Kuroo had always been able to read him.  If Sawamura had been truly worried about his situation he would have answered completely differently.

 

“Depends on why you’re calling me.”  Sawamura teased Kuroo back, his next sentence lost as the noise increased.

 

“Well you seem busy now, so how about we discuss it tomorrow?  Say over dinner, at that new place you like in Shinjuku.” There was a moment of quiet and Kuroo felt his heart beat faster inside his chest.

 

“I’d like that.”  Sawamura’s voice was soft, almost too quiet to hear over the battle going on around him but Kuroo had been straining to hear anything.  “I’ll pick you up at 6?”

 

“Perfect.”  Kuroo eased back into his seat, picking up all but one of the files and tossing them into the trash.  There was an increase of noise and Sawamura snapped out a quick order. “I’ll leave you to handle things on your end.  Please be careful, I don’t want our first date to be in a hospital.” Kuroo smiled at Sawamura’s laugh before they both hung up.  He pressed his hand over Sawamura’s file, the only one he had left on his desk. It was the only logical choice after all.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to **audriel** and her story Allies for giving me the idea that you can mix yakuza and magic to feed both of those needs!


End file.
